The Squirrelz shakes the textile industry’s hazel tree

It all started in 2013 with a design shop selling upcycled and recycled accessories and home items in Shanghai. The sustainably-produced goods found a warm welcome.
Soon enough, the contact list of founder Bunny Yan expanded and the used materials she collected became too much to handle for the designers the boutique was working with.
This is what sparked the idea to create a platform connecting Chinese factories with defective or overstocked items on their hands with designers looking for cheap materials to upcycle.
The aim of the platform is to reduce the amount of discarded products that can be found in landfills in a country where mass-production is king.

This start-up was selected to represent China at the Challenge Cup by 1776, an international start-up tournament hosted at the White House which shows how highly-regarded its work is.

‽ Environment has become a priority of China’s Five-Year-Plans and the Chinese are becoming more and more aware of the need to produce cleverly and respectfully. Innovating in this sector is not only about recycling, but also about creating the right connections. How can you reinvent the network that surrounds you?